The present invention generally relates to power tools, and more particularly, to safety detection and protection systems for power tools such as table saws of the type that are used for cutting wood and other materials.
For as long as power tools have existed, there has been concern for the safety of those who operate them. This is particularly true with regard to power tools of the type which have relatively large exposed moving blades that can easily cause serious injury to individuals who carelessly use the tool or who are the victim of a true accident that results from unforeseen conditions. While safety systems have been developed for machine tools and other commercial tools, such as stamping tools, punch presses and other machines which exert great force in manufacturing metal and other parts, such systems often have a level of sophistication and complexity that is achieved only at a cost that is prohibitive if considered for use in tools that are marketed to individual consumers or small contractors and tradesmen.
More particularly, the well known table saw that is used by woodworkers and tradesmen has a rotating blade that is often exposed during use even though blade guards have been provided with such table saws when sold for the last several decades. Such blade guards, while effective to prevent some injuries, are considered unwieldy by many users. In fact, many users find that such blade guards actually interfere with the use of the table saws and therefore remove such blade guards most of the time. Obviously, a rotating table saw blade can cause great injury to a user and countless hand injuries occur annually because of careless use or the occurrence of fortuitous accidents.
Safety systems have been developed for use on table saws to stop the blade when the user's hand approaches the blade and which trigger a brake mechanism using an electrical solenoid to engage a brake for stopping the blade, hopefully before the user's hand is struck by the blade. Because such solenoid operated systems are generally slow acting, they have been unable to prevent injury in many operating scenarios. While other systems have been recently developed, including those set forth in a plurality of patent applications assigned to SawStop, LLC, these include various mechanisms which have a detection system for detecting a dangerous condition which triggers a brake mechanism that typically includes a pawl structure that is urged into the blade by a biasing mechanism that is retained by a fusible member that is melted by a high energy electrical current. Severing the fusible member releases the pawl to stop the blade, or in some embodiments causes the blade to be retracted down below the work surface in the case of the system being utilized with a table saw. All of these systems have one or more disadvantages in terms of cost, convenience of use, early and effective detection of a dangerous condition and the ability to provide graduated protective actions as a function of the characteristics that develop during a potentially dangerous condition.